Sophomore Adithi Balaji, a student at FVHS, has been accepted into the highly prestigious and rigorous NC School of Science and Mathematics.

“I felt very happy because the acceptance rate is really low, especially for Wake County, so I wasn’t very confident that I was going to get in. But then seeing the acceptance was really surprising,” Balaji said.

To be accepted is a proven challenge, and Balaji had quite a list of things to do. She had to, “write four essays, talk about my extracurriculars, submit a transcript, and get recommendations from teachers.”

The NC School of Science and Mathematics is a residential high school. This means that the juniors and seniors that attend the high school are assigned to a dorm room, and they live on campus for their two years.

“I’m excited about the residential part of it because you’re in a dorm and I’ll have to live at the school,” said Balaji. She noted that it will be a challenge to set things up and to find new friends.

This school, although particularly well-rounded, specializes in its namesake of science and math. Because of this, it dives deeper into topics and subjects that allow for students to develop a greater understanding than they would in a regular high school.

“I applied because I wanted to major in some STEM field in the future, and the school offers really rigorous courses in STEM. I thought it was a good opportunity for what I was going to do in college,” Balaji explained.

The NC School of Science and Mathematics is both difficult and rewarding. However, for the right person going into the courses being provided, this is exactly what is needed. 

Upon completion of the program, her tuition will be completely paid for any UNC school of her choice. This payoff comes with the challenging level of the number one ranked public high school in North Carolina.